It was among the best playoff weekends ever. The four games were decided by a total of 19 points, the lowest since The Merger. Three overtimes were played, and a fourth would not have been out of the question. But how to make sense of it all? In these times of great chaos and heart-stopping excitement, where does one turn to find meaning and understanding of this madness?
Where else?
The sacred texts of Wu-Tang.
"Scared money don't make money; get your guns in." - Method Man, "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)"
If you're the Rams, and you're inside your opponents' 10, you need to get six. Really. The Muhammad fumble recovery touchdown was the first clue as to what kind of weirdness we were in for, though nobody could have been that presented at the time. Davis going down hurt, but not as much as it would have earlier in the year, as Foster has now proven himself as at least a viable option.
Good thing Bruce came back because Holt had an awful game, highlighted by that drop that would've ben six had he held on. Did anyone else get the feeling after the fourth Wilkins FG that this just wasn't going to be the Rams' day?
Then Faulk tried to make up for the five games he missed all on one drive. Touchdown! We're not done yet! Wait... Wilkins got the onside kick? How do you let anybody sneak through, much less the kicker, in that situation? More Isaac Bruce. Oh, man... the Rams are gonna pull this out in spite of themselves.
It was at this point that somebody cut Mike Martz's balls off.
You've just scored. You're at home with the crowd rocking by your side. Your kicker has just recovered the onside kick. You've got all the momentum and the opposition is on the run. It's first and 10 at the Panthers' 15-yard line. There are 25 seconds left. Even discounting ALL of that, you KNOW that the Panthers are 7-0 in games decided by three points or less, and 3-1 in overtime this year... all on the road.
You have to go for the win. You have to. And the one guy who you'd put money on going for the win didn't. This should never have happened.
Little did we know that they were just getting started. Moose theorized that the guards should've been watching the play clock on the first Kasay field goal. Charles called the miss on the followup kick, and sure enough, he pulled it. Then Wilkins came up short on his try, although he was probably still coming down from recovering the onside kick. I still don't know how that happened. Steve Smith! Remember when this guy was Public Enemy No. 3 or 4? Now he's creating overtime heroics. Remember "Alcoa Presents Faaaaan-tastic Finishes!"? Somebody really needs to bring that back.
"Pass the bone, kid pass the bone / Let's get on this mission like Indiana Jones" - GZA, "Clan In Da Front"
And we switched channels just in time to see the Pats score. True: The first 10,000 fans got free hand warmers. This is what football in January oughta be like. Maybe just a tad warmer. What I like about both of these teams is you pretty much know what you're gonna get every week - workmanlike efforts from the quarterbacks, enough decent running to keep everybody in line, solid coaching, and a key play from somebody who doesn't look like they'd be the guy to make one. I was convinced this game was going OT also, but didn't want to say anything and risk the wrath of my colleagues :)
Vinatieri JUST made that kick... in baseball, that's a great curveball that'll get the batter tossed for arguing balls and strikes. Bennett was a quarterback at UCLA, so you know he knows how to use his hands... well, except for that last one. Thirteen wins in a row. Wrap your heads around that if you can.
Godspeed, Gary Anderson. You too, Neil O'Donnell (even though you won a Super Bowl for the Cowboys)
"We dismantle any adversary / Them niggaz all thumbs and can't handle my flurry" - Method Man, "The Projects"
Remember, this is an outdoor stadium that's so damn loud. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Sensing a pattern, anyone? This is nuts, what we're seeing Manning and Co. do here. Just nuts. It's like the Rams in 2001. Chiefs don't even know where to begin to try to stop these guys. Tom Lopienski? Are you kidding me? When the, like, third-string fullback is beating your guys to the end zone, it's time to go. It really is. There's your offensive pass interference call of the day. Remember, only one allowed per day. Then Morten missed the field goal at the end of the half and I decided it was over.
How about that fumble by Priest after that long run? Disastrous. And OF COURSE the Colts went back down and scored. Welcome back, Dante Hall! Wow, a fourth down. Maybe NOW they'll pu... oh, wait, another flag. Jason's been at the paper for about six months now. He works on the news desk and is a Chiefs fan from Kansas, and he thinks defensive coordinator Greg Robinson should validate Vermiel's loyalty to him... and resign. Both Missouri teams were unbeaten at home during the regular season. Today, that and ten cents won't buy you jack.
You know who's got a good gig is Hunter Smith.
"We were at the same table when the chips were checked / A gamblin' Rebel who Inspects the Deck / Just when you thought we would fold our hand / Against all odds we raised the bet like we changed the plans." - GZA, "Back In the Game"
All week I'd had a bad feeling about this, and Donovan dropping the ball on the first drive didn't help matters. That only happens against the Rams. Have I mentioned yet that Eagles fans boo Aikman even now? I'm surprised Brown started over Sheppard at the other corner, and it already looks like a Bad Decision. Favre seemed off all game - his wideouts had to jump for a lot of his balls, but they were still catching them. The second TD to Ferguson could have been cut-and-pasted from the Oakland game.
McNabb running~~~ I thought he was gonna score on that first long one. I didn't even look at the TV for most of the middle of the game for fear of either depressing myself too much . Sherman then went and pulled a reverse Martz: up seven, on the road, at the 2, you kick the field goal. As it was, Green ran into his own man and it slowed him down just enough.
Then McNabb orchestrated Philly's version of The Drive, doing practically everything himself. He added some muscle mass last offseason, and while it slowed him down a bit, it also made him harder to bring down, as you saw on that drive and especially on the pass to Pinkston at the end, which drew eerie similarities to Randall bouncing off Carl Banks on MNF. And how about Pinkston being patient enough to wait around and smart enough to not go out of bounds? To say nothing of his footwork. Wow. Just... wow. What happened to our pass protection? Is it 1989 again? And, needless to say, "Fourth and 26" will go in next to Wilbert Montgomery's touchdown against the Cowboys in '80 and Tug striking out Willie Wilson as all-timers. For the record, they did get a good spot, but Mitchell was at the line. "Get there!" And if you get beaten on fourth and 26, you NEED to lose.
I'd love to see an overhead view of the interception because I'm convinced there was a breakdown somewhere; I just don't know where. One of our readers actually called this exact finish the day before. Mitchell, afterwards, on McNabb: "He was born to lead." Amen. And somewhere, Rush Limbaugh is having withdrawal spasms.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go home and have a heart attack." - Vincent Vega (John Travolta), Pulp Fiction
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